The 10 Best (And Most Challenging) PS4 Puzzle Games

BY REZA WINANDAR: Puzzle games, while often challenging and perplexing, are undoubtedly some of the most rewarding. These are the top 10 puzzle games on the PS4.

Besides first-person shooters and cinematic third-person action games, the PlayStation 4 offers a variety of genres to please gamers of all types.

Sony also has some deep roots in the indie game scene, which is well known for its large selection of fun and innovative puzzle games.

This makes the PlayStation 4 one of the best consoles for puzzle games of all types, from simple match-three game to gritty strategy games that can train your brain.

In this post, we will break down the ten best puzzle games on the PlayStation 4, so without further ado, here are our choices for the best brain teasers available on the system.

10. Super Motherload

Using your advanced cosmic mining vehicle, you and up to three other friends dig deep to mine precious resources to further upgrade your gear.

This game revolves around a pretty basic concept; you dig in cardinal directions with a huge mining drill, collecting different ores and materials as you go.

The further down you mine, the more fuel it will cost, so you can head back to home base to replenish your fuel and cash in on your collected goodies.

This allows you to upgrade your vehicle with new and improved mining capabilities, and this results in a somewhat relaxing and simple arcade loop.

The ability to play local co-op with your friends makes the game a bit more chaotic, and thanks to its easy-to-learn controls and simple objective, Super Motherload is an enjoyable experience for gamers of any skill level.

You’re probably going to like this game if you also like:

Dig Dug

SteamWorld Dig

Mr. Driller

9. Tumble VR

Solve physics puzzles by strategically stacking blocks, all while enjoying the immersive quality of virtual reality.

Tumble VR harkens back to the most simplistic puzzle solving times of our universal lives; childhood.

The idea of stacking blocks on top of each other is definitely not a new one, but with the added benefit of virtual reality, Tumble VR feels like a whole new take on the age-old game.

The experience is aided by a witty and snappy artificial intelligence unit that comments as you play, delivering humorous one-liners and quippy quotes.

Although at a base level you are simply stacking blocks, there’s a good variety in the puzzles that makes the gameplay feel intuitive and fun.

For PlayStation VR owners and puzzle fans alike, this is a must own.

You’re probably going to like this game if you also like:

Darknet

Statik

Portal

8. Road Not Taken

In this grid-based brain teaser, a lone adventurer finds himself in the employment of a small village mayor.

Following a particularly brutal snowstorm, a number of the village’s children have been left out in the blizzard, and it’s up to the adventurer to go and save them.

Road Not Taken mixes the top down view of games like Legend of Zelda with a more classic grid-based puzzle system, wherein you use items to affect other items on the board.

This shifts the layout of the grid, allowing you to complete your task.

Each level requires that you rescue a certain amount of children on the board, which will require you to alter the layout with your items, opening up new paths to guarantee their safety.

The gameplay is a good mix of strategy and experimentation, as you must learn how items interact with each other, and how it will help you solve the puzzle.

The game also has a decent story and atmosphere to it, as you chat with townspeople and solve side quests between the main rescue missions.

You’re probably going to like this game if you also like:

Lumo

SteamWorld Dig 2

Escape Plan

7. Tricky Towers

Stack Tetris-like pieces as high as you can without toppling your tower.

Play through a variety of modes in both solo and multiplayer modes, and see which of your friends has the best balance!

Tricky Towers is a combination of one of the oldest puzzle games ever mixed with some inventive physics.

Depending on the mode of play, Tricky Towers has different objectives, but the gameplay always revolves around stacking Tetris blocks in precarious situations.

Unlike Tetris, you aren’t clearing lines. Instead, you stack the bricks on top of each other while trying to maintain the balance of your ever-growing tower.

There are over 50 trials available in single player mode, with a variety of trial types that will have you thinking in new ways.

There’s a slew of different modes for competitive local multiplayer, and since the game is firmly rooted in Tetris, Tricky Towers is an easy game to pick up and learn within minutes.

You’re probably going to like this game if you also like:

Tetris

Tumble VR

Doctor Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine

6. The Witness

Set on a beautiful and mysterious island, you move around the environment and solve deceptively difficult line puzzles.

The Witness is devilish in its simplicity. Every single puzzle, of which are there are well over 500 of, are all essentially a variation on a simple maze.

You’ll explore the gorgeous island, which is broken up into different areas that have unique themes.

Within these areas, the puzzles react differently, and as you solve each area, you’ll gain important knowledge on how to solve puzzles in other areas.

It might sound simple, but the mixture of ambient sound design and a surprising level of detail makes The Witness one of the most astoundingly unique puzzle games of this generation.

In many ways, playing The Witness is like learning a brand new language, except this one is entirely told through lines.

You’re probably going to like this game if you also like:

Braid

Myst

Portal

5. SuperHyperCube

Stack together blocks to form unique shapes, which you then slam through outlines on an approaching wall.

The concept behind SuperHyperCube is pretty simple; you fit a shape through a hole in the wall.

As the game progresses, you must add on to the shape and rotate it, as the holes become increasingly more complex.

What makes this game a true stand out is its awesome presentation and feeling of velocity that accompanies it.

The game’s mixture of psychedelic colors and retro-feeling style makes for a heart-pumping arcade experience.

As the game speeds up and the puzzles become more complex, you’ll become lost in the high speed and stressful action.

Even better, the entire experience and its multiple modes are fully playable in VR, adding a wonderful immersive quality to the experience.

You’re probably going to like this game if you also like:

Polybius

Fez

Wipeout!

4. Q.U.B.E: Director’s Cut

You awaken on an unknown spacecraft that is on a collision course for Earth. It’s up to you to work your way through the ship and solve its puzzles to prevent the destruction of mankind.

Q.U.B.E draws many parallels to games like Portal, as it puts you in a first-person perspective and has you altering your environment to solve 3D puzzles.

Most rooms on the ship are void of color, save for distinctly colored blocks scattered around.

You can interact with these blocks using your gloves, and different colored blocks react in different ways.

Your ultimate goal is to find a way to progress through the area, and interacting with your environment to figure out a way to do that is both perplexing and entertaining at the same time.

You’re probably going to like this game if you also like:

Portal

The Talos Principle

Quantum Conundrum

3. Hue

You play as a young boy named Hue who explores his monochromatic world with a recently inherited ring. This ring allows him to view his otherwise colorless world in stunning new ways, as he bathes the gray land in color.

The main focus around Hue‘s puzzles involve shifting between different colors, which then paint the surrounding area in your selected tone. This causes pieces of the environment to phase in and out, opening up new platforming paths.

Besides altering the world by changing color, you can also push and pull various platforms, which means you’ll have to have some decent platforming skills to reach tough places.

This is one of the finest indie puzzle games available across the board, thanks to its refreshing puzzles and cool integration of visuals into gameplay.

You’re probably going to like this game if you also like:

Thomas Was Alone

The Cave

The Swapper

2. Darknet

With a large web of nodes surrounding you in virtual reality, you must hack through them to gain untold riches.

Darknet places you in front of an expansive display that resembles the internet. Dozens of interactive nodes connected by wires represent firewalls and defense systems, which you must strategically overtake to install a virus and hack the center core.

While this might sound complex, Darknet does a great job introducing the player to its concepts and results in a rewarding experience for those who like to experiment, organize their information, and think a few steps ahead.

As you work on installing the virus, you’ll have to overtake small defense nodes which act like mini-puzzles.

Completing these numerous puzzles reward you with cash and other goodies, resulting in a pleasant gameplay loop.

The immersive aspect of virtual reality gives the visuals of Darknet an awesome feeling, and next to Tumble VR, it’s one of the most impressive displays of virtual reality within the puzzle genre.

You’re probably going to like this game if you also like:

Hackmud

Duskers

Uplink

1. Puyo-Puyo Tetris

This crossover between two of the most iconic puzzles games of all time delivers endless amounts of content for both solo players and multiplayer groups. If you like puzzle games, this one is sure to leave you in never-ending bliss.

Although we’ve seen several iterations of both Puyo-Puyo and Tetris over the past 20 years, this crossover masterfully combines the two games to create absolute perfection. You can play either game in their classic iteration, either clearing lines in Tetris or combining colors to create combos in Puyo-Puyo. You can also play an interesting combination of the two games, which fuses both gameplay elements into a fun and unique experience.

There’s also a plethora of modes to choose from, with half a dozen offerings in multiplayer (both available online and locally). There’s also an extensive single-player adventure mode, which gives you a hundred levels that will challenge your skills in both of the games.

To this day, Puyo-Puyo and Tetris remain incredibly easy to learn but almost impossible to master, and the large variety of ways you can play make them both endlessly entertaining games.

Combining those games into Puyo-Puyo Tetris is an amazing idea that executes on all the best aspects of each game.

You’re probably going to like this game if you also like:

Doctor Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine

Tetris DS

Puyo-Puyo 20th Anniversary

Do you think there are other games that should be on this list? Share your thoughts!

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